Knowing that we were staying in Yellowstone National Park for 4 nights, we got up early and took showers and cleaned up the camper and loaded fresh water. We only had a 60 mile drive to the park entrance and slipped in at 9:00 arriving at our campground in the Canyon area by 10:30. One disturbing note along the way was large swaths of dead forest. It did not seem to be due to a fire (which actually signals a forest re-surge.) It was not until later we found out the trees have been unable to fend off invading armies of mountain pine beetles, and 85% of Yellowstone's forests are showing signs of mortality. Canyon Campground had no hook-ups and we were mostly in the company of tents and other very small trailers. We had a generator that could keep our camper battery charged, perk morning coffee, and recharge the iPADS, iPHONES, Kindle, and Camera. The Canyon Visitor Services also had pay showers, and we were given free tokens for two showers each! Although our campsite was a bit small , the campground location in the tall pines was beautiful. With housekeeping duties accounted for we moved out to tour the Canyon area of Yellowstone. Two rim drives (north and south of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone), 2 waterfall brink walks (upper and lower falls), 6 viewpoint lookouts, 1 grand lodge tour and 1 gift shop walk-thru. We also saw a little wildlife along the way! By 3:30 we moved on to the Lake area, where Ella had worked several summer seasons during the early 1970’s as a maid and then a cleaning inspectress in the hotel, followed by governing a cleaning staff in charge of 400 cabins in the Lake area. Every time I come back to Yellowstone it is fun to see the things that have changed, and the things that have stayed the same at the Lake Hotel. It has been over 40 years since I worked here, and I still feel an intimate “insider’s” familiarity with all things Yellowstone. Wanting to buy some sort of souvenir from the Yellowstone Lake area, Tom and I browsed the General Store. The weather is much colder than we had planned on (high today of 61 and lows in the low 40 tonight) so we bought matching Pendleton wool socks to sleep in. We returned to our Canyon campsite by 5:00 to cook a special commemorative dinner for our first night in Yellowstone: Roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, grilled lamb chops with Huckleberry sauce, and our favorite Lancer’s Rose wine! Here is a picture of our playground for the next 3 days!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |